Chinese Food
by CharlotteBlackwood
Summary: River and the Doctor are on a date night, and they run into who else but Captain Jack? This is Post-Angels Take Manhattan, Pre-Snowmen. Jack is just after Season 2 of Torchwood.


**A/N: A little brainchild of mine - what happens when River meets Jack? Hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think. It might feel a bit OOC, but I'm doing my best!**

** -C**

River watched the Doctor fly the Tardis, thinking to herself how it was wonderfully like watching a child playing with blocks.

"Dear, where are you trying to go?" she asked, amused.

"We're going to sixteenth century France," he said stiffly. "Not 'trying' to do anything. I hope you've got a dress for Versailles."

"Darling, I've got a dress for everything," she said, smirking, knowing perfectly well that they'd never get near Versailles if he continued on with that silly black lever how he was doing.

As to where they were going to turn up, she couldn't say, although she thought that when would be at least four centuries off in either direction. She began to think about what parts of the closet would be useful, and if she had a pair of gloves suitable for that whole line of history.

She was feeling in the mood for gloves.

"I think it's going to be spring," the Doctor said with a grin.

Winter, then, River mused. Thicker gloves, or a good coat.

When they landed River glanced at the scanner before the Doctor even bothered, rushing off to change his clothes.

Cardiff, early 21st century.

Lovely.

She went to the wardrobe and very easily found a sort of cocktail dress that could be considered appropriate for a night out, a warm trench coat, and a pair of long ivory silk gloves.

Well, there would be heated rooms in Cardiff.

And they looked so good with her dress.

She made it to the doors of the Tardis just moments after the Doctor, who grinned as he looked her up and down.

Oh, that man.

"Aren't you a bit... flashily dressed for Versailles, River?"

"You know me, sweetie," she teased, kissing his lips. "Always looking to turn a few heads."

He just raised an eyebrow and opened the doors to the Tardis, frowning as he looked out and saw not France, but 21st Century Wales.

River strolled out into the street casually, glancing around at the bay. She turned back to the Doctor, who was still gaping.

"Well?" she asked. "Aren't you coming?"

"This isn't funny," he snapped.

"I never said it was," she said, smiling lazily to herself as he came out and offered his arm grumpily.

They strolled along the bay toward Mermaid Quay, River glancing around at a red brick building as they passed it. She'd not been to Cardiff this early in history. That building was gone when she had visited, and she wondered what it was for.

"I'm thinking Chinese food. What do you think, Sweetie?" she asked.

"I'm thinking this isn't France," he muttered, still pouting.

"Sometimes, you know," she sighed, "you act more like you're twelve than twelve hundred."

The Doctor merely grumbled for a moment without really forming any words. Then he muttered, "Chinese is fine."

She continued smiling to herself, always amused when he made these sorts of mistakes. He could go on for hours brooding like this if nothing drew him out of it.

"Doctor?"

They turned to see an attractive man approaching them quickly on foot. The Doctor grumbled something else, gripping River's arm a bit more tightly.

Oh, whoever this was, this was going to be very, very fun.

"Doctor, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Holiday," the Doctor replied acerbically. "I suppose you're working hard, Jack?"

"Between cases," Jack muttered, turning and looking at River. "Hello, I don't believe we've met, Miss...?"

"River Song," River said, producing her hand, which Jack kissed in his very charming way.

"Your companions keep getting prettier, Doctor," Jack said with a smile.

River laughed.

"Oh, I'm not his companion," she replied, amused. "I'm his wife."

Jack's jaw dropped and he looked between her and the Doctor like Christmas had come early.

"The word threesome has never seemed more attractive," he muttered, and the Doctor laughed.

"Oh, I like this one, dear," River teased. "Come on, we were just going to have Chinese. I didn't catch your name?"

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack replied as they continued to walk to the Quay, crossing the bridge together. "You've not heard about me?"

"I didn't think it prudent," the Doctor said tersely, still pouting, poor thing.

"Why's that?" Jack asked, hurt, as River led the way upstairs to the Chinese restaurant.

"What kind of man would want to introduce his wife to the biggest flirt in all of time and space?" the Doctor replied.

"A polite one," River chimed cheerfully. "You know I like to meet your friends, sweetie."

"Sweetie?" Jack said with a grin. "Oh, I like her."

"Isn't this grand?" the Doctor said sarcastically. "Everyone's just getting along and liking each other."

"I would say so," River sighed. "Ah, yes, table for three, please?"

"Right this way, Madam," the man seating at the Chinese restaurant said with a small bow, leading them to a table.

"No, it's not," the Doctor replied as he sat down across from River, next to Jack. "Getting along and liking each other is rubbish."

"I know you're upset about France, dear," River said lazily as she picked up the menu and began scanning it, "but we have a guest with us and I'd prefer if you at least tried to be polite."

The Doctor picked up his menu and muttered something unintelligible under his breath, clearly not pleased about the request but not wanting to argue with River. He'd never won an argument with River and he didn't like the idea of losing one in front of Jack.

Dinner was a lovely affair of getting to know the charming Captain Jack and hearing his stories, both with and without the Doctor. River also told a few of her own stories, thrilled to find someone the Doctor had travelled with who fully appreciated archaeology from the wider scope of time and space.

The Doctor, of course, proceeded to grumble at repeated and regular intervals, especially if either Jack or River touched anyone else at the table in any way. He seemed to think that if he allowed such things to go without comment something unspeakable would occur at any minute.

Not that anyone but him would have minded if it did.

When they finished dinner, and dessert (which Jack insisted was on him), the three of them walked around the bay toward the Tardis once again, the Doctor separating from them to look at the Norwegian Church, still in a very bad mood.

"Is he all right?" Jack asked. "I've not met him in this regeneration before, and-"

"He's a bit cross lately," River said sadly. "He lost a couple of people very important to us recently and he feels responsible. But there was nothing he could have done."

"I'm so sorry," Jack sighed. "I know how that feels. I lost a couple of good agents this year."

River nodded, looking across the bay at the hotels on the other side, wondering how all those people felt, living an existence the size of a human lifetime in the 21st century. There wasn't even any guarantee they'd get an existence that large. Only the lucky did.

"Can I ask who?" Jack asked. "I knew Donna was going to have to leave, but I've not seen him since."

"Donna?" River asked. "Who's Donna?"

Jack hesitated, but he sighed and said, "Donna Noble. Her consciousness got joined with the Doctor, sort of, to save the whole of existence. But he had to make her forget everything to save her from burning."

"He seems to do a lot of that, the burning," River muttered. "No, I've not met Donna yet. This was Amy and Rory. My parents, actually. It's sort of complicated."

"I can imagine," Jack replied, amused.

"Weeping Angels."

"I'm so sorry," Jack said, putting his hand on her arm. "I've lost a friend to them as well."

"All I can tell myself is that they're together," she said with a tight smile. "But you know the Doctor. He hates goodbyes."

"So he does," Jack said with a sad sort of smile. "I think we all do, in a way. He can just run away from them more effectively than most."

"One of these days he'll have to stop running," River replied putting her hand on the rail and looking down at the water. "One of these days it will all catch up with him. And then heaven help us all."

But before Jack could ask what she knew, before Jack could demand an elaboration on things she couldn't begin to explain, the Doctor returned from his jaunt to the church.

"Right," he said. "Off we go."

"Can I come?" Jack asked cheekily.

All the seriousness had gone from the mood and flirtation was back in full. The Doctor didn't seem as moody as he'd been before, but he still didn't seem to like the idea of River and Jack in the same space. Perhaps there was a tad of jealousy in that man after all.

"No," the Doctor said, more gently than River would have expected, under the circumstances. "Your team needs you, remember?"

Jack frowned, maybe thinking of the people at Torchwood he'd told them all about over dinner.

"I suppose, but you could bring me back to five minutes from now," Jack argued. "They'd never even know I was gone."

"Oh, Jack," River said sadly, smiling. "You're needed here, and you know as well as we do that things happen. Remember what we just talked about? Things happen."

"I can't die, River," Jack reminded her. Half a dozen of his stories had revolved around that point.

"There are other things, Jack," River said softly. "There are things that don't even involve death in the slightest, but could still keep you from returning. Best just to say good...good night."

Jack gave her a tight smile and nodded, backing away as they got into the Tardis.

But as he watched the blue box dematerialize he couldn't help but think that maybe River just hadn't liked the way he'd watched the Doctor during dinner.

Well, he'd keep a watch on the rift.

If there was one thing he knew, the Tardis would refuel eventually, and he would be ready when it did.


End file.
